You are a woman. And there are so many things you can be. Anything you want! Even a home-maker. Yes even a home-maker and you wouldn’t be “just” a home-maker. Here are the top 5 myths about home-makers, debunked!
“You are wasting your education”
“If a housewife was what she wanted to become eventually, why did she bother with all that education?” It is rarely uncommon for one to hear, them aunties gossiping about how you’ve wasted money and resources in educating yourself and later on choosing to be a homemaker. Well, here’s some news for everyone who thinks that way. You can be a PhD degree holder and yet choose to become a home-maker. There is absolutely nothing base or shameful about it. It’s a choice you are entitled to make!
“You are not independent”
Popular media has constructed the image of an independent woman as someone swanky dressed, financially independent, and the one, who heads to the most happening place in town for a margarita on weekends. That isn’t the only form of independence. You could be a home-maker, enjoy a day of gardening, cooking and reading, and settle down on your couch with a steaming cup of tea (or any other beverage – to be politically correct!), and still enjoy the feeling of being independent!
“It’s not even a real job”
Ironically, people who’ve never had to manage a household for a single day in their lives, blurt out such statements casually. It is as real a job as any other! Taking care of an entire house, its occupants, all their needs, their meals, finances and all the elaborate planning that goes in to ensure, that a household functions smoothly, is not a cakewalk.
“Being a homemaker is unfulfilling”
Once again, popular media has for long painted characters of home-makers as desperate, lonely, and just waiting to break free. Believe me, home-making can be an amazingly fulfilling thing to do. As long as that is what you choose to do, of course. Some women find fulfillment in presenting top notch business plans to potential investors, while some find fulfillment and joy in baking hot, fluffy and fragrant muffins. Does anyone have the right to tell either of these women that what they are doing shouldn’t give them a sense of fulfillment? We’ll let you answer that one.
“You may not set a great example for your kids”
It is important for your kids to know that they have choices. It is important for them to know that you “chose” to be a home-maker, and not for dearth of other options. Because that’s what you wanted for yourself. It is not uncommon for some degree of shame to be attached to the answer – “my mother is a housewife”. This comes from my personal experience and is a shout out to all the SHEROES who are amazing home-makers out there – my mom is a home maker. And she has two Master’s degrees to her credit.
For the longest while, I found myself questioning her, and myself about why she gave it all up. Today, I realize, it was her choice. She is a strong, intelligent and fiercely independent woman.
No one has the right to question her choice to become a home-maker. Definitely not me, since I owe everything I am today, to the amazing mom and home-maker she has been!
What is your home-maker story? And just for laughs – what are the weirdest myths you’ve heard about home-makers? Share the fun with us.